The embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are systems, methods, and devices providing a reduced number of selectable inputs that enable efficient communication, where such communication is taken to broadly encompass the exchange of thoughts, messages, information, etc., by signals, writing, speech, etc. For some embodiments, the systems, methods, and devices may be manually signed without a device, providing efficient non-verbal communication. For other embodiments, the systems, methods, and devices for efficient communication are implemented on an interactive device. What is meant by interactive device is a device that responds to user activity, where the activity may be related to various stimuli, such as mechanical, light, or sound, or related to human senses such as touch, sight, or hearing and the like.
The foundation of systems, methods, and devices for efficient communication disclosed herein has been described in Goren U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,235, and is based on a binary code of a primary, or control input, followed by a secondary input. The control input is associated with an entry chosen from the set of letters, numbers, characters, symbols, punctuation marks, commands, and the like. Associated with the control input are secondary inputs chosen from a larger set of letters, numbers, characters, symbols, punctuation marks, and the like. The sequential execution of a control input followed by a secondary input is then the unique signature for a letter, number, character, symbol, punctuation mark, command, and the like.
In some embodiments, a system and method based on the binary code of control and secondary inputs is the basis of a sign language code. Embodiments of such a sign language code having a reduced number of selectable inputs may be used independent of any device, thereby enabling efficient non-verbal communication. Additionally, unlike the American Sign Language, the British Sign Language and its offshoot, the Deafblind Manual Alphabet, the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein use a sign language code for efficient communication that does not rely upon ambiguous one or two-handed hand movements that thereby create ambiguous characters. Embodiments of the sign language code disclosed herein utilize a series of two finger movements, of which each set of two finger movements is a unique signature for each letter of the alphabet, or number, etc. Further, all of the letters of the alphabet, or numbers, etc., may be communicated utilizing only one hand. Embodiments of the sign language code are suited for implementation on an interactive device.
In other embodiments, the systems, methods, and devices providing a reduced number of selectable inputs enable efficient communication on interactive devices. Currently, interactive devices, including telecommunication, computation, control, and recreational devices are increasingly becoming compact and mobile. These interactive devices include personal digital assistants (PDAs), watches, mobile phones, pagers, e-mail devices, web appliances, web tablets, tablet PCs, game devices, and remote controls, by way of example. Many of these interactive devices are increasingly becoming wirelessly interconnected.
Input into interactive devices may be accomplished by input devices that are actuated mechanically, or by a variety of other stimuli, such as light and sound. In that regard, human user input may be manually actuated, or otherwise mechanically actuated by sensors associated with hand or eye movement, or voice actuated, or combinations thereof. Likewise, such interactive devices may respond to a human user with output that is mechanical, audial, or visual in nature, or combinations thereof. As will be discussed in more detail subsequently, given the various sensory modes that input may be entered and output may be manifested using an interactive device, embodiments of the systems, methods, and devices of the invention disclosed herein may be suited to assistive technologies. Though embodiments of the systems, methods, and devices of the disclosed invention are suited for human use, they are also amenable for use with automated systems.
In one aspect of what is contemplated, input into such interactive devices may be actuated using a variety of manually activated devices. One example of embodiments of manually activated devices are a hand mounted device having contacts or sensors, texting mouse, or a full-sized control lever or joy stick, or the like. Some embodiments of the subject invention address a need for enabling efficient communication on interactive devices having reduced-size input components. Such reduced-size input components currently have several drawbacks relating to critical user interface issues, such as ergonomic comfort, accuracy, and speed of inputting. In some aspects of what is contemplated, exemplary smaller manually activated input components may be a variety of switches, such as toggle, pushbutton, slide, rocker, rotary, or LCD programmable switches, or reduced-size control levers or joy sticks, and the like. In other aspects of what is contemplated, exemplary smaller input components may be touch screens, keypads, touch pads, and keyboards, and the like, which are commonly used for entering or inputting thoughts, messages, information, etc into smaller interactive devices.
One set of approaches for inputting thoughts, messages, information, etc into smaller interactive devices has been to utilize the full capability of a QWERTY keyboard in a reduced format form. For instance, touch-sensitive keyboards or smaller keyboards on smaller screens of compact interactive devices have been used, resulting in keys too small for ergonomic comfort. Additionally, there is an increase in error rate and decrease in input rate associated with these smaller keyboards, due to the accidental touch by the user of more than one key at a time. Still another approach involves providing a reduced-size QWERTY keyboard that utilizes a thumb board. For many, thumbing on a reduced-size QWERTY keyboard is awkward, resulting in that approach failing to meet the ergonomic comfort criteria, and additionally resulting in a decreased input rate.
Still other approaches utilize keypads as input components. Keypads are common on compact interactive devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), watches, mobile phones, pagers, e-mail devices, web appliances, web tablets, tablet PCs, game devices, and remote controls, etc. An example of an approach for making entries on keypad devices includes disambiguating methods such as multi-tapping on a key until the desired letter on that key is displayed. For example, the letter “r” is displayed by tapping three times on the “7” key. With a disambiguating program, lists of words are created from the matching of the sequence of keystrokes to complete dictionaries. A number of keypad entry devices utilize a software program to disambiguate the plurality of letters appearing on the keys of such device. A disambiguating computer processes an entered keystroke sequence by matching the different combinations of letters associated with each keystroke to a stored list of words. The words matching the combinations of letters are then displayed for user selection. This method requires a user to enter a combination of keystrokes and then choose from a list of words. The list the user must select from is often quite long requiring the user to read through each potential choice to find the desired word. This type of input, while reducing the error rate associated with the stylus, is much slower and often frustrating to the user due to the need to press a sequence of keys and then filter through a list of computer generated choices. Other limitations of disambiguating methods include limiting the user to the set of choices provided by the computer, as well as being limited when more than one language is used.
It is thereby desirable to create additional systems, methods, and devices using a small set of inputs that are effective in providing accuracy and ease of communication. Such systems, methods, and devices may be used independent of any device to provide efficient non-verbal communication. However, it is desirable that embodiments of the systems, methods, and devices of the subject invention be further compatible with a broad range of compact interactive devices in order to provide ease of use and ergonomic comfort, as well as to fulfill the goal of portability, interconnectivity, and flexible for use with a variety of applications and other software programs.